Stand or chair base



(No Model.)

J. W. OOULTA'SL STAND 0R CHAIR BASE.

No. 608,677. Patented May 10,1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES WILSON COULTAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STAND OR CHAIR BASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,677, dated May 10, 1898.

Application filed n ry 23, 1897. fierial No. 620,503. (No model.

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WILsoN COULTAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Stand or Chair Base, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in furniture-legs or the base or lower part of stands, tables, chairs, or stools, or similar articles of whatever name; and the objects of my invention are to provide from sheet metal a strong, firm, and inexpensive base or lower part for such articles that is easily set up and when'knocked down can be packed in a small space. I attain these objects by means of mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a general view of the stand or chair base or lower part. blank piece of sheet metal out of which one of the legs is pressed. Fig. 3 is a broken section of one of the legs after it is pressed into form and shows the projections which pass through the locking-plate. Fig. 4 is the locking-plate or the piece that holds the legs in position. Fig. 5 shows another way of holding the stems of the legs in place. Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the mannerin which the leg projections engage the locking-plate. Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing the upper part or stems of the legs bracing each other around the standard. Fig. 8 further illustrates the manner of holding the stems in place shown in Fig. 5.

I will now particularly explain the process of making and the construction of the several parts. blank, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, with the projections or spurs Z2 Z). The general form and size will be determined by the form and size of the leg required. The projections or spurs b b are, however, an essential part whatever the general form of the leg. These spurs b b are projected from the center line of the blank and also toward that portion designed to be the foot of the leg. I place this piece of metal upon a former or stamping-die which presses it into the shape and form sub- I stantially shown in Fig. 3, the blank being arched for strength and the two lateral spurs being by this operation bent at right angles substantially with the plane of the blank in its first form, as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a single I cut from a piece of sheet metal a In Fig. 3 the upper and smaller portion is curved to encircle the standard d, the hollow or concavity of the leg being on the under side. This brings the projections 19 b into a position in which they extend downward on both sides of the stamped and curved leg (1, as shown at Fig. 3. The former or stamping-die also curves or hollows the stems 0, so that the stems of the legs will make a complete circle around the standard 01, as shown at C in Fig.

7. I thus take sheet metal of a certain value and by the two operations I first cut it into the peculiar and novel shape, as shown in Fig. 2, and, again, by the second operation, I- deflect the lateral spurs at right angles to their former state and until they project in the same direction, as shown in Fig. 3, instead of in an opposite direction.

The locking piece or plate 6, Fig. 4, I cut from sheet metal and preferably in the form shown. The extensions 6' are'sloped downward so they will have the same incline as the part of the leg where the projections b b are. In each of these extensions I cut slits g sufficiently large to admit the projections b 1),

these slits being the same distance'from each other as are the projections 19 b of the formed leg. Through the center of the locking-plate I cut a circular orifice it, through which the tree or standard (1 passes. To set up the stand or chair base, Ipass th projections b b ofthe formed legs through the slits g of the locking-plate, draw the stems c of the legs together until they touch each other, as shown at Fig. 7, and placeover the top the ring-cap j, having the thumb-screw 7c, and pass the standard 01 through the center of the assembled stems thus held by the ringcap and hold it in position by the thumbscrew is, by which also it is adjusted to the height desired. I thus produce a spurred sheet-metal leg from a single piece of material, which leg when in use is held the more firmly by the weight it supports. Its operation is as follows: As the supported weight bears downward through the standard (1 the stem 0 bears against the standard and clasps it more closely, while the spurs b b, interlocking in the slits g of the locking-plate, hold it firmly ful'crumed at that point.

Either one or more spurs may be used, the

V the standard shorter and the cap becomes an extended portion of the upper end of the standard and the thumb-screw is not needed,

as I place threads on the inner surface of the standard calculated to engage threads in a rod extending down from the under surface of the seat of the chair. I may also use any other suitable means for the adjustment in height. In case I do not desire to make the same adjustable in height I make the stems of the legs longer and fasten them to the bottom part of the top of the table or stand or the seat of the chair. I place the projections b b any distance desired down the decline of the leg and may construct the legs so that the stems 0 will not come together, but may rest against a support of any desired size. After the projections b b are passed through the slits g of the locking plate they may be bent inward, if desired, though this is not necessary, as they are firmly held by the purchase of the spurs upon the locking-plate and the stems against the standard and each other.

In Figs. 5 and 8 I show another manner of fastening the stems of the legs or the part I metal used, and then the tongue m will pass through the slits n and lie on the outer surface, or I may let the strip m remain straight and indent the inner surface of the stem between the slit and the tongue, and then the tongue will lie on the inner surface within the indentation.

I claim as my invention' 1. In a leg or base for stands, chairs, or other furniture, a sheet-metal blank for the leg, having spurs at the edges of the blank, a foot portion of the blank on one side of the spurs, and a stem portion of the blank on the opposite side of the spurs from said foot portion, substantially as described and shown.

2. In a leg or base for stands, chairs, or other furniture, a sheet-metal blank for the leg, said blank having a foot portion at one I end of the blank, and a stem portion at the other end of the blank, and a fulcrum-hold between said stem portions and foot portions, substantially as described and shown.

3. In a base for stands, chairs, and other furniture, the combination of a central standard or tree, a locking-plate attached to or surrounding the standard and provided with slits corresponding to the attaching-points on the legs and having the incline of the legs, and a plurality of legs each provided on each side with. a downwardly-projecting spur portion, said spur portion being located between the foot and stem portions of the legs and being adapted to engage with or hook into and draw upon the locking-plate to lock the parts firmly together, substantially as described and shown.

4. The combination of the sheet-metal leg,

JAMES WILSON COULTAS.

Witnesses:

WM. M. RHEEM, WM. F. HENNING. 

